- When and how you get paid, and what happens if they are late
- What counts as the work being finished
- What happens if the job changes once it has started
- How either side ends it, and what that costs
Example conversation with Contracts & Disputes
You
Contract for a £22k commercial fit-out. [contract.pdf attached] Anything I should worry about?
Contracts & Disputes
Three things, in the order they would hurt.
Clause 7.2, retention. Five percent held for twelve months after completion. That is £1,100 of your money for a year, and the release is not automatic. Negotiate to six months, or to release on a certificate.
Clause 11, variations. Says changes must be agreed in writing by their project manager. Fine, but there is no timescale. You could be held on site waiting for approval with no right to claim the delay. Add a deemed-approval period.
Clause 4.1, payment. Thirty days from certification, and they certify monthly. Worst case that is 60 days. MAYA should look at whether your cash carries it.
Nothing here is unusual. All three are negotiable.
Clause 7.2, retention. Five percent held for twelve months after completion. That is £1,100 of your money for a year, and the release is not automatic. Negotiate to six months, or to release on a certificate.
Clause 11, variations. Says changes must be agreed in writing by their project manager. Fine, but there is no timescale. You could be held on site waiting for approval with no right to claim the delay. Add a deemed-approval period.
Clause 4.1, payment. Thirty days from certification, and they certify monthly. Worst case that is 60 days. MAYA should look at whether your cash carries it.
Nothing here is unusual. All three are negotiable.
It read the actual clauses and ranked them by what they would cost you.
Attach the file rather than describing it. A specialist reading the real clause beats one imagining a typical clause.
Paste this to LEO
I am about to sign this. [Attach the contract.] Tell me what is unusual, what is missing, and the two things I should push back on.
Try it on your business
Every lesson ends with a question to hand to a Greymill specialist, who answers with what it knows about your business.